Over the past few weeks,
Vice President-Elect Biden and I have announced some of the leaders who
will advise us as we seek to meet Americaís twenty-first century
challenges, from strengthening our security, to rebuilding our economy,
to preserving our planet for our children and our grandchildren.

Today, I am
pleased to announce members of my science and technology team whose work
will be critical to these efforts. Whether itís the science to
slow global warming, the technology to protect our troops and confront
bioterror and weapons of mass destruction, the research to find
life-saving cures, or the innovations to remake our industries and
create twenty-first century jobs -- today, more than ever before,
science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and
prosperity as a nation. It's time we once again put science at the top
of our agenda and worked to restore Americaís place as the world leader
in science and technology.

Right now, in labs,
classrooms, and companies across America our leading minds are hard at
work chasing the next big idea, on the cusp of breakthroughs that could
revolutionize our lives. But history tells us that they can't do it
alone. From landing on the moon, to
sequencing the human genome, to
inventing the Internet, America has been the first to cross that
new
frontier because we had leaders who paved the way: leaders like
President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known
world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our
scientists, but who respected the integrity of
the scientific process.

Because the truth is that
promoting science isnít just about providing resources -- itís about
protecting free and open inquiry. Itís about ensuring that facts and
evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. Itís
about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when itís
inconvenient -- especially when itís inconvenient. Because the highest
purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth, and a greater
understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President
of the United States -- and I could not have a better team to guide me
in this work.

Dr. John Holdren has agreed
to serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and
Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
John's a professor and Director of the
Program on Science, Technology,
and Public Policy at Harvardís
Kennedy School of Government, as well as
President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center. A physicist
renowned for his work on climate and energy, heís received numerous
honors and awards for his contributions and has been one of the most
passionate and persistent voices of our time about the growing threat of
climate change. I look forward to his wise counsel in the years ahead.

Dr. Varmus is no stranger to
this work. He's not just a path-breaking scientist, having won a
Nobel
Prize for his research on the causes of cancer -- he also served as
Director of the National Institutes of Health during the Clinton
Administration. I am grateful he has answered the call to serve once
again.

Dr. Eric Lander is the
Founding Director of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard and was one
of the driving forces behind mapping the human genome -- one of the
greatest scientific achievements in history. I know he will be a
powerful voice in my Administration as we seek to find the causes and
cures of our most devastating diseases.

Working with these leaders,
we will seek to draw on the power of science to both meet our challenges
across the globe and revitalize our economy here at home. And Iíll be
speaking more after the New Year about how my Administration will engage
leaders in the technology community and harness technology and
innovation to create jobs, enhance Americaís competitiveness, and advance
our national priorities.

I am confident that if we
recommit ourselves to discovery; if we support science education to
create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in
America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in the things unseen,
then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity.